13 Movies That Shed a Bad Light on Stepmoms (PHOTOS)

Thanks to Cinderella (and its various incarnations) stepmoms have earned a bum rap on the big screen. Rather than being portrayed as the warm and lovely bonus moms they can be in real life, actresses such as Anjelica Huston and Cate Blanchett have left an imprint of the stepmother as an evil, calculating witch.

These 13 films defamed stepmothers in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. Which was your least favorite portrayal?

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Stepmom (1998)

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Image via Sony Pictures

As the younger women who swooped in and took her husband, Julia Roberts is depicted as the career-oriented, bad advice-giving titular character in Stepmomwhile saintly Susan Sarandon's stay-at-home mother character battles cancer.

Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)

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Image via Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

InEver After: A Cinderella Story,Anjelica Huston takes on the role of the evil stepmother, forcing Drew Barrymore's Danielle character to do manual labor and throwing her late father's prized book into the fire.

A Cinderella Story (2004)

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Image via Warner Bros. Entertainment

After her father tragically dies in an earthquake, an uncaring stepmother forces Sam (played by a teenage Hilary Duff) to live in the attic and work long hours at the family diner in this modern Cinderella adaption.

In Her Shoes (2005)

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Image via Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Sydelle, the irritating stepmother character in In Her Shoes, resents her husband's two adult daughters (played by Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette) while constantly bragging about her own daughter, "my Marsha."

After the Ball (2015)

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Image via Myriad Pictures

In this contemporary retelling of Cinderella, the scheming Lauren Holly character tries to sabotage her stepdaughter's fashion career by forcing her to spend her time doing menial work like counting buttons.